House GOP Reform Advocate Passed Over

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, January 13, 2003

As the leading Republican advocate of campaign finance legislation in the House, Christopher Shays of Connecticut was often at odds with his party's leadership.

Now, it seems, it's payback time.

The senior Republican on the House Government Reform Committee, the eight-term congressman was passed over recently when party leaders met to select chairmen for the new, two-year Congress.

"I knew when I supported campaign finance reform, and was told directly and indirectly it jeopardized my chance to be chairman of the committee," Shays said in an interview.

At the same time, the 57-year-old lawmaker said, "I felt like I was dealt with very, very fairly by the leadership."

Instead of naming Shays as chairman of the panel, House GOP leaders tapped Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, rewarding him for a two-term effort as leader of the GOP campaign effort.

The panel has wide jurisdiction over government programs, and Davis has pledged to turn it into "ground zero" in the battle against government waste, fraud and abuse. The former chairman, Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., gave up his post because of term limits after six years.

House GOP leaders met in private last week to approve committee chairmanships, and sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said the decisions were heavily influenced by Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Tom DeLay, R-Texas, the newly elected majority leader.

"The speaker has the highest respect for Chris Shays and thinks he's a great member of Congress," said Hastert's spokesman, John Feehery. "They agree on most things and disagree on a few. But Tom Davis is going to be a very good chairman."

Stuart Roy, DeLay's spokesman, declined comment.

Seniority is a tradition in Congress, not a rule, and Shays was not the only senior lawmaker passed over for a committee chairmanship.

Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., a relatively junior member of the panel with jurisdiction over natural resources, was named to head that panel. In that case, though, officials said Pombo outshone other contenders for the job when auditions were held. They said there was no advance decision to deny the post to a more senior lawmaker who opposed the leadership on a prominent issue.

In Shays' case, though, several officials said that was the case even though he and Davis both auditioned for the job.

Shays and others knew he wasn't going to get the job, said one GOP official familiar with the conversations leading to the vote.

In the interview, Shays said he believed his chances to chair the committee were particularly damaged by some of the infighting that occurred as supporters of the campaign finance bill collided with the leadership.

In particular, he cited his decision to oppose the leadership on a critical procedural vote in July 2001, and his subsequent effort to gather signatures on a petition to force the legislation to the floor under different rules.

"From then on, it became too public," he said of his role.

The legislation, designed to reduce the role of money in politics, passed Congress last year and was signed into law by President Bush. GOP leaders battled it to the end, arguing it posed a threat to their party's ability to retain its majority.

While GOP leaders passed over Shays for the chairmanship, they arranged what the Connecticut lawmaker described as a "soft landing."

He will become vice chairman _ a largely honorific title _ and retain his chairmanship of a subcommittee.

In addition, several sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expected Shays would be named to a seat on a newly created committee to oversee the Department of Homeland Security.

For his part, Shays said he intends to run for a ninth term in 2004. "Some day I'd like the opportunity to chair a committee," he added.